Detailed planning was the secret behind the Central Americans’ progress that
made it a tournament to remember for them in Brazil

Costa Rica's run to the brink of the World Cup semi-finals was the culmination of three years of preparation and detailed individual training programmes supplied to each squad member six months ago.

While Jorge Luis Pinto’s minnows emerged from Brazil as the fairytale story of the World Cup, progressing to the quarter-finals after topping a group including England, Uruguay and Italy, the Central Americans’ success was rooted in long-term planning. “Our journey has been a result of almost three years of training with the same principles, the same training methods,” midfielder Celso Borges said.

“It shows that the group is steady and that the team is very confident in what it is doing. “Some of us also had personal work to do. The minute we qualified, we had tests to see what we were lacking. We were given personal work on resistance and strength and we were all working for six months.

“There is no magic to it. We just put a lot of heart into it, but we also had such a good defence as well. Conceding two goals in five matches is a pretty decent record.

“We have a lot of things to be proud of and I hope the people in Costa Rica understand that and give us all their love and support.”

After being eliminated without enduring a defeat, Borges insisted that Costa Rica’s success – and that of the United States and Mexico – demands recognition from Fifa in terms of rewarding the Concacaf region with extra World Cup qualifying berths. “We have 3½ qualification spots,” Borges said. “It is for other people to decide, but what Concacaf has shown during the tournament, let that be the way of judging.

“We had three teams in the last 16, we all played well and we all played our hearts out. Concacaf has done a really good job. For the region it’s huge and, for Costa Rica, it has an impact economically, socially and sports-wise. We can grow on many levels. This will be one of the key moments in Costa Rica football history. Every World Cup has a revelation during the tournament and I’m really happy it was us.

“The cards we were given before the World Cup, everybody thought we had no chance, but to come through all that shows a lot of mental stability and that we have good players. Among everything, we deserve to be called good players. That’s why we should be happy.”